Friends And Enemies
by SpookyDude
Summary: Buffy and Spike head to LA to help out old friends when old emenies reappear, BtVS/Ats. Please R&R.
1. Unwelcome Guests

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Joss, ME, WB, etc… own everything.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A big thanks to Rach, Gen, Leah and everyone else who supported this fic!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the purposes of this fic, Caritas did not get blown up by Holtz, it is open once again and Lorne resides there. The pairings are B/S and W/F. Please review! Thanks!

Friends And Enemies

Part 1

Wesley walked into the Hyperion hotel one morning, to be greeted by a highly irregular sight. Fred was in the lobby pouring tea for three men. As the door shut behind Wesley, the four other people in the room turned to him. 

Fred smiled and greeted him. "Hey Wesley. Some of your friends are here."

Wesley turned his attention to the three men. Now that they were facing him, Wesley quickly recognised one of them to be Quentin Travers of the Watchers Council, he assumed that the other two were goons working for Travers. "Fred." Wesley began sternly, "Go upstairs and don't come back down until I come to get you. Now."

Fred, sensing the urgency in Wesley's tone, rapidly scurried upstairs.

Wesley walked over to the three men, swiftly picking up a broad sword as he walked past the weapons cabinet. Once he reached them, he pointed the sword at Travers, ignoring the two henchmen who were tensing at his action. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Now, now Wesley, there's no need to get barbaric. I just want to talk to you." Travers explained.

"You flew across the Atlantic just to talk to me?" Wesley shot back sceptically.

"Please Wesley, I know we've had our differences in the past, but I mean you no harm." Travers assured him.

Wesley pondered this for a moment, deciding to back off. He stopped pointing his sword and sat stiffly on the couch opposite Travers. "Alright. You wanted to talk? Then start talking." Wesley said coolly.

"Well." Travers began. "It has come to the Council's attention, that the vampire Darla has, in a sense, given birth to the child of Angelus. For a child to be parented by two vampires is quite extraordinary, I'm certain you are aware of that."

Wesley looked at Travers, remaining composed. However, internally, he was extremely unnerved. "So? What's your point?" He questioned, forcing himself to remain calm.

"My point is that the Council would like to take the baby to our headquarters to examine him. We'd like to run some tests, to determine what he is exactly, then we'd give you the child back, of course." Travers summed up.

"Oh, of course." Wesley responded sarcastically. His blood was beginning to boil at the suggestion of treating little Connor like a science experiment. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you would just run some tests on him and hand him back, especially if you found something suspicious? Do you honestly believe that I'd let you?" He laughed mirthlessly.

"Now see here Wesley-"

"No, you see here!" Wesley interrupted, standing up. "I'll tell you what he is, Quentin, he is a child, a human. To be perfectly exact, he is a human that you will not be getting your hands on. Now get the hell out of here before I do something that you'll regret." He finished dangerously.

Travers and his men stood. "I'm sorry it has to be this way." He said sadly.

"I'm not." Wesley bit out sharply.

"You will be." Travers responded cryptically.

This angered Wesley. "The council no longer has any power over me. They haven't for a long time."

"Am I to understand that you are questioning the authority of the Council?" Travers asked, disbelieving. "My, my Wesley. You should know better."

Wesley stared at him maliciously, he refused to be fazed by this sniveling bureaucrat. With a simple snort, Quentin Travers exited the hotel with his two lackeys in tow.

+++++++++++++++

Later that evening, Fred and Wesley sat in the Hotel's courtyard, enjoying the cool breeze. Both were pondering about the visit from the Council of Watchers. They had told the rest of the gang about it, and they all came to the agreement that they would try not to worry about it because they were unable to do anything until the Council made a move. That was, if they made a move. However, Wesley was certain that they would. It was this fact that had prompted Angel to go to the Furies to get a protection spell placed on Connor's crib. The spell was done so that if anyone other than the members of Angel Investigations tried to touch the crib, they would be instantly repelled. Hence, when Connor was in his crib, he was safe.

However, the spell did little to allay Wesley's fears. The fact of the matter was that the Council were cunning, resourceful and ruthless. They would try to get to Connor however they could. It was this feeling of uncertainty that hung over Wesley like a dark cloud. _Just like when I was working for them. _

So there they sat. Wesley, with his head in his hands, worrying about the Council and Connor. Fred, next to him, also worried about Connor, but more worried about the toll this was taking on Wesley. Nobody had told her much about the Council of Watchers, just that Wesley used to work for them as a watcher, that they were tied in with the Slayer (but both Slayers had defected from the Council and now have nothing to do with them) and that they were not to be trusted. 

But what really had Fred bothered was the fact that Wesley seemed so disturbed by their presence in LA. In all the time that Fred had known Wesley, she knew him to be very strong, not just physically, but emotionally. He was amazing that way, he would take charge all the time, but only when it was necessary. Other times he would be so nice… _and gentle… and caring, so very caring… and sweet…and cute… and handsome… and I just love how he cleans his glasses when he's nervous or worried, it soo adorable… and I wish he'd realise that I like him…Ok! Stop it! Getting dangerously off-topic!_ She silently reprimanded herself.

She looked over at him. He still had his head in his hands, his glasses were dangling between his fingers by the tip of the side part of the frame. _How can someone so strong-willed be so worried? He's almost intimidated._ Fred frowned, and began to speak to him softly. "Wesley? Are you alright?"

Wesley heard her, but didn't respond. After a moment she laid a hand on his slumped shoulders and tried again. "Is it the Council that has you all…" She searched for a suitable word. "… Depressed?"

At this, Wesley sat up, put his glasses on and looked at her, pain etched on his face. "Yes." He said simply.

"You're worried about Connor? It's ok. We all are." She assured him.

"It's not just that." He said hesitantly. "Thinking about the Council brings bad associations. So seeing them again is not much fun."

"What kind of associations?" Fred asked.

"Well, lets just say that my time spent as a watcher was not the most successful or rewarding point in my life." He quietly responded.

Fred saw that this was difficult for him to talk about, so she decided not to push. "I'm sorry Wesley." She whispered, feeling the need to say more. "Don't let the Council get you down. Whatever you were then, doesn't matter… What matters is who you are now, and right now you are successful. You lead us… You lead us and together we help people, and you're so good at it. We make a difference, and that is the most rewarding thing we can do… help people, and make a difference in their lives." Tentatively she placed her arm around his strong shoulders and drew him to her.

Wesley rested his head on her shoulder and snaked his arm around her waist. He was concerned that he had overstepped the boundaries of their relationship with his intimate gesture, but when she remained relaxed and did not protest, his worries melted away. "Thank you Fred, thank you so very much." He said, sighing deeply.

Fred said nothing, only smiling and hugging Wesley a little tighter, in response. Then he spoke again. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we never went to Pylea and got you out… I really don't know what I'd do if you weren't around."

"Oh you give me too much credit." Fred blushed. "It's not like I do much around here anyway."

"But you do! You do!" He replied adamantly.

Fred was slightly puzzled by the notion that she was priceless to the team and decided not to respond. Instead both her and Wesley sat, comfortably wrapped around each other, silently reassuring each other that they were significant and needed.

The pair were in such blissful serenity, that neither of them noticed, the pinprick of red light or the barely audible beeping coming from the listening device taped underneath the stone bench.

+++++++++++++++


	2. Visions

Part 2

Two weeks after the visit from Travers, Wesley stood by the counter with Cordelia and Fred. The three of them were entertaining Connor, who was currently silently staring up at them, pouting. This made the two girls laugh.

"Isn't that just the cutest thing you have ever seen? He's brooding!" Cordy exclaimed "Just like your daddy! Yes you are!" Cordy continued in her 'baby talk' voice.

Wesley laughed at that. "No, he's just a little attention seeker." He responded. "Aren't you! You're a little ladies man! Aren't you! Yes you are!" He said in _his _'baby talk' voice.

Fred erupted into hysterics at the thought of a baby trying to 'score with the ladies'. As soon as Connor saw her laughing, he burst into his own fit of giggles, with Cordy and Wesley soon joining them.

All of a sudden, Cordy stopped laughing and started screaming, as a painful vision ripped through her. Her knees buckled and she began to fall, only to be caught by Wesley and Fred. They gently set her down on the ground as she continued to thrash and yell under the power of the forceful vision.

"Go get Angel and Gunn." Wesley said to Fred.

Fred nodded and ran off. Wesley hurriedly grabbed a pad and paper and began speaking to Cordy. "Talk to me Cordelia, what do you see?"

"Demons… three demons… they're attacking… a  woman." She managed to say. 

Angel and Gunn came thundering into the lobby with Fred close behind. Angel rushed to Cordy's side just as the vision stopped. She continued to speak, this time with more ease. "They're large and green with a big skewer coming out of their hands."

"Sounds like a Polgara demon." Wesley commented.

"Did you see where they were?" Angel asked.

"Yeah." Cordy replied. "An alley off Cohen Street."

"Cohen Street? That's huge! It goes through half of the East side." Gunn cried.

"I'll come with you. I'll know the exact place when I see it." Cordy suggested.

"No way! You need to rest Cordelia!" Angel exclaimed.

"But it's the only way. Otherwise you won't get there in time to save that woman." Cordy reasoned.

"She's right." Wesley backed her up. He then began to give out the orders. "The four of us will go. Fred you stay here and look after Connor." 

Everyone nodded, knowing what they had to do.

+++++++++++++++

After having killed the Polgara demons, Wesley, Angel and Gunn trudged back to the car, where Cordy was waiting for them, after directing them to the location of the demons. They all sported cuts and bruises from the fight, not to mention a generous amount of demon blood splattered across the front of them.

Suddenly, a shriek pierced the through the night. Knowing that it was Cordelia, the three men sprinted back to the car, where Cordy was now writhing about in the throes of another vision.

"AAAHHHH!!" She screamed brutally.

"CORDELIA!!" Angel cried, desperately trying to reach her.

"NO!" She sobbed.

"Cordy, talk to me!!" Angel tried again.

Cordy ceased her screaming as the vision finished. Breathing deeply, she addressed the others. "It's Fred. We have to get back to the hotel." She attempted to stand up, not really succeeding.

Angel stopped her. "Woah, woah. Take it easy Cordy, just catch your breath for a second and-"

"WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!!" She interrupted violently, her voice cracking under the stress. As the tears welled up in her eyes, she choked out "Before it's too late."

+++++++++++++++

Fred stood in the upstairs hallway of the Hyperion, walking back and forth, and cooing at Connor, in an attempt to make the extremely awake baby, somewhat sleepy. Unfortunately for Fred, it wasn't working. 

"Connor, it's getting far too late for you to be awake. Now it's time for good little boys to get their rest." She spoke softly to him.

Connor's response was to give Fred an enormous smile, as if to say 'there is nooo way you're going to get me to sleep.' Fred stopped walking and thought for a moment. Suddenly she smiled and started to walk again.

"Hey Connor." Fred began. "Did you know that theoretically, time travel is possible? Yeah that's right. If a person was to travel into space at a fast enough speed and then come back, continuing this fast speed, then they would have travelled into the future and have barely aged. Of course, this is theoretical because you would have to be travelling at a speed faster than light, and men just can't do that yet. But it's still fascinating none the less, don't you think?"

Fred smiled almost smugly when she saw little Connor's eyelids droop. "I think you're a little young for theoretical physics." She whispered, grinning.

Suddenly she heard the sound of breaking glass downstairs. She listened further, sub-consciously cradling Connor a little tighter. The sound of footsteps hurrying about downstairs floated up to Fred, scaring her. Connor whimpered softly, this noised snapped Fred back into reality. Now wasn't the time to freeze from fear.

She hurried into Connor's room and locked the door behind her. Gently, but quickly, placed him in his enchanted crib. Fred attempted to comfort an increasingly agitated Connor, all the while trying to keep herself calm. Then as she heard the men start to come up the stairs, she tried to push some furniture in front of the door.

She could hear the men on the other side of the door now. All the tension was too much for Connor, and he began to wail loudly. Fred froze, closing her eyes, not knowing what to do.

_BAM!! _The men began to attack the barricaded door. This made Connor cry harder, and all the commotion snapped Fred into action. She started to search frantically for weapons.

_BAM!!_

_Come on! What can I use?_

_BAM!!_

_Weapons, weapons… Where are they?!_

_BAM!!_

_…Oh that's right! They're downstairs – a place I can't get to…_

_BAM!!_

_This is just perfect!_

_BAM!!_

_It doesn't matter, Connor's safe… That's all that is important…_

_CRASH!!!!_

The door burst open, sending furniture shrapnel everywhere. Fred simply stood there, totally defenceless. She knew there was nothing she could do at this point, but face them head on. She had nowhere to run or hide, so even though she was terrified on the inside, she would not show it to the men covered in black from head to toe, who were currently flooding the room. 

As some of them moved past her to Connor, Fred saw a gap open up in the entrance. But as she began to frantically move towards it, she saw a huge arm, holding a crossbow, swing toward her head. After the butt of the crossbow connected with her head, Fred's vision wavered. Her last coherent thought was _I hope the spell holds._ The woozy feeling Fred had would not pass and she became disoriented. She dropped to her knees and then collapsed, totally unconscious.

+++++++++++++++

Angel, Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia pulled into the Hyperion quickly and got out of the car. They could see from the outside, that someone had broken into the hotel, and the apprehension they had all been feeling on their speedy way back was now realised. They burst into the Hyperion, with Wesley in the lead.

"FRED!! FRED!!" Wesley called out desperately. The only reply was Connor wailing pitifully.

Angel pushed past the others and went upstairs to tend to his traumatised son. Cordy collapsed to her knees, the two visions and all the running around had drained all her strength. "No… No!… Too late… too… I was… no… was too late…" She sobbed. Gunn knelt down next to her, hugging her reassuringly.

Wesley searched all of the lobby, office and downstairs area for Fred. _Maybe she's just passed out… she's not dead… she's not dead… she's not dead… _He kept mentally repeating to himself. He couldn't seem to find her anywhere. As he kept searching his breathing became heavier and more laboured, until he had to stop and catch his breath. "She's not dead." He said aloud "She can't be dead."

Just as Wesley came up from the basement, Angel came down from upstairs, holding Connor. "She's not upstairs. The only thing I found was some of her blood on the floor near Connor's crib." Angel stated, referring to Fred.

"She's nowhere down here either." Wesley commented pensively.

"They've taken her." Cordy said wearily. Her words hung in the air heavily. Nobody knew what to say to that. Cordy wasn't asking a question, she was making a statement, they all knew that. 

Finally Gunn broke the silence, "Is the little guy ok?" He asked motioning to Connor.

"Yeah." Angel answered. "He's a little shaken up, but he's not hurt."

"Good… good." Gunn whispered.

As they were talking, Wesley surveyed the wreckage in the lobby idly. He didn't care about the damage, he cared about Fred. They still weren't sure what had happened, what her condition was, or who had taken her. He looked over at the counter, it was more or less the same as before, except now there was a piece of paper sitting on it. Wesley walked over to the counter and saw that it was a note… addressed to him. It read:

_To Wesley Wyndham-Pryce,_

_We have taken your girlfriend. We do not intend on hurting her, simply meet us at pier 32, next Saturday at __3:00 PM.__ Come alone and bring the baby. It is there that we shall give you Miss Burkle, unharmed, in exchange for the child. Keep in mind that whilst we have no desire to hurt Miss Burkle now, the circumstances may change if you fail to comply with our wishes._

_Her fate is now in your hands._

_Quentin Travers._

Tears started to seep out of Wesley's eyes after reading the note. He closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears, but it didn't matter. Now he was _really_ angry.

Now he was _really_ scared.

He opened his eyes and moved, wordlessly, back over to the others. Angel noticed his odd behaviour and questioned him. "What? What is it?"

Wesley handed Angel the note. Angel took it and read it aloud to the others.

"Oh my God!" Cordy whispered, shocked.

"Why do they think she's you girlfriend?" Gunn wondered.

"I… I don't know." Wesley replied, finding his voice.

"It's not important." Angel cut in. "What's important is that we figure out what we're going to do. We can't give them Connor, but we can't abandon Fred."

At that point, everyone looked at Wesley. "This isn't some idiotic demon, or Vampire gang. We are up against the Watcher's Council. We are definitely in over our head."

"So what do we do?" Cordy asked

"We get help." Wesley responded. "From someone who knows what we're dealing with."

+++++++++++++++


	3. Daydreams and Drama

Part 3

I am a happy young woman.

_I am a happy young woman sitting in the magic shop._

_I am a happy young woman sitting in the magic shop, talking to my friend, Xander Harris._

_I am a happy young woman sitting in the magic shop, talking to my friend, Xander Harris and NOT thinking about a stupid vampire named Spike._

Xander is talking… listen to him… Xander's your friend… Xander is normal… Xander doesn't bleach his hair… Xander doesn't wear the most unbelievably attractive black leather coats… you didn't have sex with Xander two nights ago and then walk out on him before he woke up because you couldn't believe what you had done and somehow it was his fault because he has that stupid accent where he could be saying anything and it sounds soo sexy… AHHHH!!!! Xander is talking to you!! HELLO?! What if he asks you a question??

Buffy snapped out of her mental debate and started listening to Xander. "So anyway." He said. "The boss is totally busting my butt to get this job done because the clients are totally loaded and he wants the business. So, I can't hang for long because I'm drowning in you Summers."

"WHAT?! What did you say?!" Buffy exclaimed suddenly.

"Ummm… I said my boss is busting my butt, so I can't hang for long, because I have to go to work early tomorrow." Xander answered, confusion evident in his voice. "Buff, are you ok?"

"Yeah! Yeah." She answered, nodding. "I'm fine, totally fine. I just didn't hear you, is all… hehe, stupid personal stereo, I'm going deaf… hehehe." She laughed uneasily.

"Oooook." Xander said. He wasn't fooled by her, she had been acting a little strange for a couple of days now, but he decided not to push it at this point in time.

"Ummm, I think I left some stuff in the training room." Buffy said rising from her seat. She walked over to the training room. _I am a happy young woman sitting in the magic shop, talking to my friend, Xander Harris and NOT thinking about a stupid vampire named Spike. – Yeah right!!_

Buffy quickly walked into the training room, not bothering to turn the light on. She began to pace. _Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it!! Stop thinking about Spike, because if you keep thinking about Spike – then it becomes a big deal, and Spike being a big deal in your life is definitely bad. Ok. Reasons why it is bad: Spike is a Vampire, Spike is evil, Spike is soulless, Spike is mean, Spike is a smoker, Spike is a bad influence, Spike has the most gorgeous blue eyes, Spike has abs that you can scrub laundry on… AHH!! Off topic, OFF TOPIC!!!!! Spike's bad! Very, very bad! And evil! And bad!_

Buffy stopped pacing and sighed deeply. "Who am I kidding?" She moaned.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ok." She said brightly. "Pull. It. Together." She said, punctuating each word with a light slap to her face.

Buffy left the training room and walked briskly back to the table. When she got there, Anya was talking to some one on the phone.

"No, I'm sorry Rupert Giles isn't here." Anya said. Buffy's ears perked up at that and she began to listen to Anya's half of the conversation.

"Who's calling?... yeah, he's left the country… because he felt useless in America… no it's for good… is this related to the magic shop? Because if it isn't then you're wasting my time… well I do have a business to run… ok, what did you say your name was? Wesley Wheedon-what?"

Buffy jumped up when she realise Anya was talking to her ex-watcher Wesley. She grabbed the phone off Anya. "Hey!" Anya exclaimed, unimpressed. 

"Hello? Wesley?" Buffy spoke into the phone, ignoring Anya.

"Yes, it's me. Is that you Buffy?"

"Yeah."

"Oh good. Don't ever let that other girl answer the phone again!"

Buffy grinned. "What's up Wesley?"

"Well I was actually looking for Rupert, I'm in some trouble with the Council."

"Giles has moved back to England."

"Damn! He's no good to me there."

"Wait, what kind of trouble are you in."

"The Council have kidnapped Fred."

"Oh my God! Wait a second, who's Fred?"

"Oh, Winifred. We saved her from Pylea, the alternate dimension sucked into a while back."

"Oh yeah, Angel told me about her. If you want I could come to LA, I've had my fair share of run-ins with the Council, maybe I could be helpful."

"Actually that would be really great. Could you leave tonight?"

"Yeah, sure. I just need to get someone to drive me and I'm on my way."

"Ok, that's great. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. So, why did they kidnap her? The Watcher's Council aren't exactly ethical, but they don't do things for no reason."

Wesley froze. Only then did it hit him, that this would be a very touchy issue between Buffy and Angel. "Ummm, they wanted something… uhhh… I don't want to talk about it over the phone. We'll discuss everything in detail once you're here."

"Oh, ok. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Alright, goodbye."

"Bye."

Buffy hung up the phone and turned to the questioning faces of Anya and Xander. "That was Wesley." She began. "Apparently the Watcher's Council have kidnapped Fred, the newest member of Angel Investigations."

"Those bastards!" Anya yelled. She hated the Watcher's Council and their anti-demon beliefs, so she never had any problems with voicing her dislike of them.

"It's ok sweetie." Xander said soothingly to his fiancée. He then turned his attention to Buffy. "Why did they kidnap him?"

"Her. Her name's actually Winifred." Buffy corrected. "I don't really know why. Wesley said something about the Council wanting something in exchange… or someone, maybe… he didn't really get into it. Anyway, I told him I go to LA and help. So, can you drive me Xan-man?"

"I'm sorry Buff, but like I told you, I have lots of work to do and I really can't screw around." He said apologetically.

"Xander, this isn't screwing around. The Watcher's Council have kidnapped a girl."

"I know. I'm sorry. Believe me, I want to nail the Council's asses as much as you do, but I just can't miss work right now."

"No, that's ok. Sorry I sometimes forget that you guys actually have a life outside of slaying and stuff." She said sadly.

"Why don't you get Spike to drive you?" Anya suggested.

"Huh? Spike?" Buffy said nervously. "Wh-why would I want Spike to drive me?"

"Uhh, hello?" Anya responded. "He has, like, nooo life; he'll take you out of boredom. Besides, if things get rough, you don't need to worry about him – he can take care of himself."

" No, no. He's way too annoying to take with me." Buffy re-iterated.

"But by the time you get to LA, it'll be almost daybreak, so he'll just go to sleep and be out of your hair." Anya said.

"Hmmm…" Buffy thought aloud. "I'm liking the sound of that. I think I could actually live with that. I'll go ask him."

Buffy sounded bright and optimistic, but inside she was reduced to a bundle of nerves at the thought of seeing Spike again.

+++++++++++++++

Spike sat in his crypt aimlessly flipping through channels on his flickering television. He wasn't paying attention, rather, he was thinking about Buffy. _I can't believe the stupid bint. She just left, after everything that happened that night, she just left. That bitch! Did she just use me for sex?... probably. Well screw her, I'm not going to get all sad over her! This wet puppy bit's getting stale!… I wonder if she'll ever want to see me again… probably not… dammit!_

Spike's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock at the door. _Well this can't be her – she never knocks…_

He got up and went to the door. Upon opening the door he found the object of his desire staring up at him. If Spike had needed to breathe, then he would have passed out at the mere sight of her. 

Her deep, hazel eyes looked at him with uncertainty, as she chewed on her moist, pink lower lip. Her golden hair fell over her back and shoulders, just hitting the top of her black halter top. Her red, leather pants hugged her in all the right places and she finished the classily seductive ensemble with black ankle-boots.

"Hey Spike." Buffy said quietly.

"Hey." He whispered back. _Close your mouth and wipe the drool off, you bloody pillock! Once he had regained control of himself, Spike stood up a little straighter. He noticed the bag sitting at her feet._

"So, you planning on moving in, love?" He asked sardonically.

Spike wasn't going to let her know that he was hurt by her actions. Instead, he covered his feelings with his usual arrogant bravado. Buffy sensed the cover up, and at this point, it suited her just fine. She wasn't sure what her feelings were, so she didn't want to talk about what had transpired between them.

"No thanks bleach-boy. I'm here to ask you something." She answered shrewdly.

"Well then." He stepped away from the door, allowing her to enter. "Ask away."

Buffy picked up her bag and stepped inside. "Ang- Wesley and his gang in LA are in some trouble. Fred, this girl that works with them, she's been kidnapped by the Council of Watchers. Wesley rang, asking for help, so I'm going to go to LA and help them."

"So by 'Wesley and the gang', what you really mean is 'Angel and the gang'." He stated.

"No. Wesley was the one who called me and he's the one in charge around there, so what I really meant was 'Wesley and the gang'." She rebuked.

"Gee, that's swell." Spike commented with sarcasm. "Mind telling me what this has to do with me?"

"Well, I want you to drive me there. I need to get there tonight and driving is the simplest answer." She said quickly.

"Yeah, driving is the simplest answer… if YOU can drive!!" He exclaimed.

"Spike-"

"No!" He interrupted her. "I should've known. The only reason you ever some to see me is when you want me to do something for you!"

"I asked Xander first, but he couldn't miss work tomorrow." She reasoned.

"What?!" He cried. "You didn't even ask me first?!"

"What the hell?!" She squealed back. "I thought you didn't want to take me anyway?!"

"Well you're right, I don't." He said with false calm. "So why don't you sod off."

She eyed him sternly for a moment. "Spike. I really need to get to LA. Would you please drive me there?" She asked him, the seriousness evident in her voice.

Spike looked back at her pondering. "You don't strike me as the begging kind." The words rolled off his tongue softly, almost seductively.

"Stop it." She breathed. "I'm being serious."

Spike moved over to Buffy in a predator-like manner. Gently, he placed his hands on her hips. He moved his head down until her faces was barely an inch away from hers. A small smile played on Spike's lips when he noticed that she didn't resist him at all. 

"So am I." He responded, his voice barely audible. Then, he walked quickly out of the crypt. Buffy sighed in frustration and went out after him.

When she got outside, she saw him standing about 20ft from his crypt, staring up at the sky. She walked up behind him. Sensing her there, he turned and spoke softly to her. "Get your stuff. We have to leave soon if we're going to make it to LA by daybreak."

Buffy gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you." She said as she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. Spike smiled, then squeezed her hand back and nodded in recognition.

+++++++++++++++


	4. The Arrival

Part 4

After having reached LA an hour earlier than they expected, (thanks to Spike's law-breaking driving of the motorbike) Buffy and Spike stood outside the hotel. Neither were making any attempt to move; Spike figured that since Buffy knew these people, he would go in when she was ready, Buffy figured that she'd go inside when her feet started moving… which was bound to soon.

Spike was getting really bored, so he said to Buffy. "Love, why aren't we going inside?"

Buffy merely looked at Spike, with a completely lost look on her face. Then she looked down at her feet and said, "Come on feet… it's time to get walking." She then returned her lost gaze to Spike, "They're not moving." 

Looking back at Buffy, Spike would have laughed at her behaviour if he wasn't completely pissed at the fact that she was having this much trouble seeing 'the great and wonderful poof' again. Swallowing his anger, Spike moved in front of Buffy _It's__ time to put a stop to this._ He thought sternly.

"Buffy," He began. "I understand that you're a little uneasy about going in there and seeing certain hair-obsessed people again. But you came here to help and you're not going to be able to do that unless you go inside. So suck it up and get with the moving."

Buffy looked at Spike with a defeated gaze, she knew he was right. "Wait a minute." She said, narrowing her eyebrows suspiciously. "Since when have you been so eager to help out?"

Spike chuckled. "Since 'the quicker I help out' means 'the quicker I leave'." He responded.

"Ahhh. It all makes sense now." She said smiling. "Ok." She said determinedly, borrowing Willow's resolve face. "It's time to go inside… Ok. This is me, sucking it up."

With that, Spike snorted with laughter as dirty thoughts of 'Buffy' and 'sucking' filled his head. Buffy's response was to slap him on the arm, hard. Then, she walked past him and Spike followed, rubbing his arm.

When Buffy and Spike entered the lobby of the hotel, they could feel the tension thick in the air and they could see that the LA gang were doing nothing to alleviate it. On the couch, Cordelia was sitting with her eyes closed. With one hand, she rubbed her forehead; with the other, she held a cup of coffee. Buffy marvelled at how much older and more tired Cordy looked. She could tell that this woman wasn't the girl Buffy knew from high school, but that she had been through more than her fair share of evil and horror, just like Buffy herself. Next to Cordy sat an attractive black man playing with a Gameboy, everything in his body language screamed 'stressed!' In the middle of the room Wesley paced angrily, yet nervously. When Buffy saw him, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She could barely recognise him. Much like Cordy, Wesley looked as though he had been through a lot as a person. His presence in the room was much more commanding; he was less the bumbling watcher and more a force to be reckoned with. Finally, there was Angel. He was standing next to the reception desk. He looked exactly the same. Same angelic face, same hair, same presence.

"Umm… hey." Buffy greeted the room, her voice tinged with confusion as she looked around the room. She was slightly bewildered by what she saw, as she had expected more action.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at Buffy, smiling gratefully. Then they all looked at Spike. For a split second they stared at him with open mouths, then out came the weapons. Before Spike could even blink, Angel was upon him pointing a sword at his throat, Wesley aimed a crossbow at him, Cordy waved a cross in front of herself and Gunn just sat there, not comprehending. "What's going on?" Gunn asked. "Why y'all freaking out?"

"Well this is bloody rich!" Spike said with false cheer as he looked disdainfully at the sword aimed at his neck.

"Angel!" Buffy said desperately.

"What the hell are you doing here Spike?" Angel demanded.

"Angel!" Buffy tried again.

"Oh for God's sake! Down boy." Spike replied condescendingly.

"ANGEL!" Buffy yelled. 

This time, Angel looked at Buffy and asked. "What is he doing here, Buffy?" 

Before Buffy could respond, Spike used the distraction to kick the sword out of Angel's grasp and push him up against the wall, pinning his arms behind him. Wesley, who saw his friend in trouble, let an arrow fly from his crossbow with deadly accuracy. "NOOO!!" Buffy shouted and jumped towards Spike, pushing him down to the ground, taking Angel with him. 

Buffy quickly got up and stalked over to Wesley. When Spike and Angel recovered, Angel pounced on Spike, raining punches down on him. As Spike began to fight back, Buffy started yelling at Wesley. "What did you do that for?! We come here to help and you try to kill him?!" She ground out dangerously.

"HE was the one attacking Angel! Chipped or unchipped, Spike is still an evil, soulless fiend and if he tries to harm any of my people I WILL take the necessary action against him!" Wesley yelled back.

Meanwhile, Gunn attempted to break up the fight between Angel and Spike, but all that did was earn him an elbow to the face, which sent him staggering back from the duelling vampires.

"He is NOT a fiend!!" Buffy yelled back at Wesley. "He is the-"

"STOP IT!!!!" Cordelia screamed, long and loud. Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Stop this." She rasped. "This is stupid. We're all just really tired and stressed out. But, we didn't come together to fight, we have more important things to worry about." 

"Yes of course. You're absolutely right." Wesley agreed. _It's time to take charge._ He thought to himself. "Gunn, you take Cordy into the kitchen and fix her some tea for her throat. Buffy and Spike, sit down." He walked over to Angel and whispered. "Go get Connor so we can show him to Buffy." When Angel began to protest, Wesley silenced him by saying. "We need to get this all out in the open now."

+++++++++++++++

Five minutes later, Buffy and Spike were sitting on a couch together, facing Wesley and Angel, who was holding little Connor.

"So." Buffy began. "Who's baby? He's so cute!"

"Ummm… we'll get to that in a minute." Angel answered.

"Whatever." Spike spoke up. "So what's happened to this girl? Fred?"

"Well." Wesley began. "The Watcher's Council has kidnapped her."

"We know that." Buffy said. "The question is why?"

Wesley and Angel looked at each other quickly. Then, they turned back to Buffy and Spike. "They've kidnapped her in exchange for this little guy." Angel said, motioning to the baby in his arms.

"Which brings me back my point." Buffy said. "Who is this little guy?"

"Ummm…" Angel said nervously. "This is Connor. He's my son."

This time it was Buffy and Spike's turn to stare open mouthed. "Your what?!" They both said, simultaneously.

"My son." Angel said again.

"The Council want to experiment on him, to see if or how he differs from a normal human being." Wesley said, deciding he should step in. "As far as we can tell, Connor is just a healthy, human, baby boy. However, that's not the point. The point is that the Council would probably kill Connor in their efforts to find out how he worked."

"So I'm guessing the idea is to get Fred away from the Council without giving up Connor." Spike said.

"That's the plan so far." Wesley responded. "They want to make the exchange at 3:00 PM on Saturday and it's Tuesday morning now, so we have about four days to figure something out."

Spike nodded in reply. When he saw that Buffy hadn't said anything or barely moved since Angel had said 'my son', he began to rub slow soothing circles on her back. Buffy's only response was to sigh sadly, and close her eyes. Angel narrowed his eyes at the kind gesture, he could see something in Spike's eyes when he looked at Buffy and Angel didn't like it one bit.

Before Angel could say anything about it, Buffy opened her eyes and asked. "Who's the mother?"

When Angel hesitated, Buffy tried again with more strength. "Who's the mother?"

"Darla." Angel mumbled in reply.

"Oh." Buffy said, barely loud enough for the others to hear.

+++++++++++++++

Later on in the day after Angel woke up, he went upstairs to the guest room that Buffy was in and knocked on the door. "Buffy?" He called out.

"Yeah, come in." She responded.

When Angel walked in, he found Buffy sitting on the bed. He pulled up a chair and sat down. "Buffy." He began. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to drop everyone on you like this, especially when you came here to help and all."

Buffy chose not to respond to that. Instead she asked. "How could you and Darla have a baby? You're both vampires."

"It was part of a prophecy." He said simply, as if that explained everything.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry I didn't realise that." She said mockingly. "So, was the sleeping together part of the prophecy too? Huh? Was it all romantic? Did you have a candlelit dinner and then retire to the bedroom? Or did you just end up doing it in the back of your convertible?"

"Buffy-"

"No!" Buffy said with a shaky voice. The tears that she had been willing back started to slip down her cheeks. "You see, I'm taking an issue with this whole thing. I don't get it. You know that you and sex equal bad things, but you did it anyway." She got up and started to walk around the room, as if trying to figure it all out. "Oh wait, maybe I do get it. Maybe Darla is just sooo amazing that you thought it was worth the risk." At this point Buffy was openly crying. "See, I'm not worth a second go. But Darla? Wow! Darla is wonder girl! She's the kinda girl worth ruining your life over!"

"Buffy it's not like that, I-"

"I don't want to hear it! I can't! I can't talk to you right now. Just get out."

"But Buffy-"

"Get out!" She yelled again, swatting Angel away as he attempted to reach out for her. "Get out! GET OUT!!"

Reluctantly, Angel exited the room with slumped shoulders. Once he was gone, Buffy collapsed in on herself, sobbing mercilessly.

+++++++++++++++

Back in his room, Angel sat down and thought. Something didn't seem quite right with Buffy, she smelled different. She smelled of Spike. But, not just that, she had the faint, musky smell of sex. _Her and Spike didn't… did they? No… NO! No way! They drove all the way from Sunnydale together, that's why his smell is on her… as for the sex… well… maybe she did it with someone else… of course she did it with someone else… her and Spike? That's funny! That's funny, funny stuff!_ He chuckled nervously.

Angel got up and walked over to Connor's crib. "What do you think, little man?" He asked a sleepy Connor. "Do you think there's something going on between Buffy and Spike?"

Connor's answer to his father was to gurgle incoherently. 

"Yeah." Angel said, smiling. "That's exactly what I thought."

+++++++++++++++

After crying her eyes out for more than an hour, Buffy was plagued with confusing thoughts.

_Why am I so upset that he slept with Darla?…._ _I slept with Spike, what's the big diff?_ Then another voice popped into her head. _But there is a difference… Spike's chipped… Spike helps you… Spike loves you… Darla's evil… she just a demon… Spike's more than just a demon… OK! I've definitely been spending too much time in this room…_

With that, Buffy left her room and went downstairs. Down there was the entire gang, including Spike. Angel, Wesley and Gunn were quietly conversing, Cordy was playing with Connor and Spike was sitting down, enjoying a cup of pig's blood. When she walked into the lobby, Spike stood up and moved over to her.

"Hey." He said. "Are you feeling any better?" Spike was well aware of how Buffy was taking the whole situation; he heard her argument with Angel, as well as her crying after Angel left the room.

Buffy looked up at Spike. She gazed into his eyes and saw the love and concern there. She smiled genuinely and said. "I'll be Ok."

"Good. Because, between you and me." Spike whispered. "These people are bloody boring when they're tense."

Buffy giggled, and Cordy said. "Hey! I heard that Blondie!"

"Bloody hell, aren't you human?" Spike asked.

"I'm psychic." Cordy responded "You don't want to screw around with that."

"You're psychotic?" Spike said, purposefully mishearing her. "Well, that explains a lot now, doesn't it?"

"Buffy, why did you have to bring this retro-trash with you?" Cordy groaned.

"Because I needed the ride." Buffy answered rolling her eyes at Spike's childishness.

At the double meaning of her statement, Spike smothered the laugh that came to his throat, with a cough. Buffy stared murderously at Spike and he instantly grew serious.

Cordy merely raised an eyebrow at their antics. _Well now, that was probably more than I was supposed to hear…something's up wit those two…_

Buffy looked over at Cordy, and then at Connor. She walked towards him, with Spike following, until she was standing right next to where Connor lay. "Do you mind if I pick him up?" She asked Cordy.

"Go for it." Cordy answered, smiling.

Gently, Buffy picked Connor up and held him close. She took a deep breath and smelled that milky smell that seemed to accompany all babies. 

Angel looked at Buffy holding his child and smiled softly. She never seemed more beautiful than that moment right there. It was then that Angel noticed Spike standing next to her, smiling at the sight of Buffy with the child in her arms. The smile was wiped off Angel's face as he looked on to see Buffy and Spike laugh at how Connor was giggling.

Buffy looked down at the tiny child in her arms. Her smile became watery and tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of how this child was not hers, how she would never have Angel's child, how she may never have children. Right then the Connor started to cry, as if he knew the pain that Buffy was going through. Buffy began to bounce Connor up and down saying "Hey, it's Ok. Don't cry." But to no avail.

Dammit!" Buffy panicked. "He won't stop crying."

"It's okay. Give him here." Spike said, taking Connor from Buffy's arms.

Angel saw this and tried to move to stop it, but Wesley held him back. Connor was in no danger from Spike, and there was no need to cause a scene like what had happened that morning, especially in front of the baby.

Spike held Connor close to his face, all the while, bouncing him slightly until he stopped crying. "Atta boy." He said softly, lightly patting the baby's back. "You're Ok now." 

"Wow." Buffy said in awe. "You're really good with him."

"Oh it's nothing much." Spike replied smiling. "He's a tough little bloke." He turned his attention back to Connor. "You're a tough little bloke aren't you? Yes you are!" He said, nuzzling Connor's nose with his own. 

Connor smiled radiantly at Spike, who in turn, grinned back. When he did so, Connor burst into hysterics, apparently he found the smiling Spike to be hilariously funny.

Buffy looked at the two, her unshed tears shining in her eyes as she grinned wider than she had for months. The sight of Spike with the tiny child had touched her heart and also made her snap out of whatever funk she had been in since she arrived in LA. Suddenly, Buffy's resolve came back to her and with determination, she addressed the group.

"Listen up everyone." She began strongly. "No more screwing around. Spike and I came here to help, so that's what we are going to do. We will get Fred out of there without giving up Connor and we will make them pay."

_Hell yes…_ Buffy thought. _The Slayer is back!_

+++++++++++++++


	5. Sanctuary

Part 5

After a day of brainstorming what to do about getting Fred back safely, the gang, plus their two counterparts from Sunnydale, had come up with little in the way of a plan. It was this fact that had prompted Angel, Spike and Buffy to visit Carita's in the desperate hope that the Host might be able to give them some pointers.

Once the three of them had walked inside, Buffy turned to Angel and said. "So this guy reads people when they're singing and he tells them their future and stuff like that?" 

"Basically."  Angel replied.

"Dear God! We don't have to hear YOU sing do we?" Spike whined.

"Oh and I suppose you're a regular Pavarotti?" Angel quipped.

"Actually, he's quite-" Buffy started.

"Oh no, I don't sing! No singing for me thanks!" Spike cut her off hurriedly.

Before anyone could say anything else, Lorne, the Host, walked up to the unlikely trio. 

"Angel, now what brings you here?" Lorne asked jovially. "Is the world in peril again? Please tell me if it is, cause then I won't bother re-modelling the stage."

"Fred's been kidnapped." Angel said, straight to the point.

"Well yeah, I'm sensing that. By some watcher, right?" Lorne responded seriously.

"The Council of Watchers, to be exact." Buffy piped up. "Hi I'm Buffy-"

"Summers, the Chosen one." Lorne finished, leaving Buffy flabbergasted. He stood directly in front of her and took a good look at her. "So you're the little slayer who been stealing the hearts of all the vamps! Welcome to Carita's!" He said warmly.

Buffy blushed. "Thanks." She said, smiling.

"Look at you. Lethal with the fighting, and with the looks – I like you already sweetie." Lorne remarked, flirtatiously.

Buffy giggled at Lorne's swooning, causing Spike to clear his throat loudly. At the deliberate sound, Lorne turned to Spike and said. "Stop being such a baby."

Spike raised an eyebrow at the green, talkative demon. After holding that face for a moment, Spike broke into a grin and held his hand out to Lorne. Lorne grabbed his hand and pulled him into a brief, one-armed, hug.

"I never thought I'd be saying this to someone from LA, but it's really good to see you again." Spike said, genuinely.

"You too, hon!" Lorne replied happily. "Did everything work out like I said?"

Spike shifted uncomfortably, looking in Buffy's direction for a split second. "Yeah, yeah." He mumbled "Just like you said."

"See! I told you!" Lorne exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, wait." Angel cut in. "You two know each other?!"

"Why are you so surprised?" Lorne responded. "He came into the bar a few times. Carita's is a sanctuary for EVERYONE, not just the people you like." 

"But you never told me that you knew Spike." Angel said.

"You never asked." Lorne replied, grinning cheekily.

Angel opened his mouth, as if to respond, but then closed it again, sighing. "Ok, whatever." He said, desperate to get back to the point. "Is there anything you can tell us that would be useful in getting Fred back?"

"Well, you know how it goes, you get up on stage and sing, then I tell you what you want to know." Lorne answered.

Angel looked at the stage thoughtfully. Lorne, having seen the ponderous look on Angel's face, continued quickly. "But, I know how you hate singing, Angel, so how about one of you out-of-towners? What about you sweetie, do you want to sing?" He asked, speaking to Buffy.

"Ahhh… no. No, no, no, no, no. I don't do the singing… really… no way!" Buffy answered nervously.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you'd be great." Lorne insisted.

"No, really. I'm REALLY not great with the singing. Really." Buffy rushed.

"Ok then, have it your way gorgeous. What about you Spike? I know you want to sing." Lorne said to him, giving him a knowing look.

"So that you can poke about in my brain? No thank you." Spike grumbled.

"Sweetie, I can already read you so well that you may as well have a neon light flashing over your head, so just get up there and sing." Lorne commanded jovially.

Spike looked at Buffy with more than a little unease. However she urged, "Come on Spike, take one for the team."

"What team Slayer? The team of you and me?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

Buffy began sputtering, "What?!... no… I don't mean… I just… oh come on, you know what I mean!"

Spike smiled at her discomfort, but when he looked at the stage the smile quickly left his face. Slowly he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Alright." He said dramatically. "I'll sing. But someone better hand me a drink because there is no way I'm doing this fully sober!"

"Great! Anything you want!" The Host replied, gesturing to the bartender.

Soon, Buffy, Angel and Lorne were at a table looking at Spike who was near the stage awaiting his turn to sing. "Angel." Lorne said. "Maybe you should go ring Wesley and make sure everything's ok at the hotel."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Angel agreed. "I'll be back in a minute."

When Angel left the table, Lorne turned to Buffy and said. "Now, who I really want to find out about is you, because I'm sensing a very interesting aura from you."

"M-me?" Buffy stammered in reply. "If it's me you want to know about, then why are you getting Spike to sing?"

"Oh, I already know his deal, but I just LOVE hearing him sing!" Lorne replied smiling. "But seriously now, just sing a few bars of something, anything you want."

"Ummmm… ok." Buffy thought for a minute and then said, "Ok. I'm just going to start. **_Life is overwhelming, heavy is the head that wears the crown. I'd love to be the one to disappoint you but I don't fall down. Was that ok?" Buffy asked nervously to The Host's grim face._**

"That was very nice singing sweetie." He responded. "Ok." He said and paused for a moment before continuing. "At some point in the relatively near future, I'm sensing you're going to go through great loss and pain. But it's best not to dwell on that because it's one of those things that can't be changed, no matter who you are." He said the last bit pointedly as Buffy opened her mouth to protest.

He then continued. "I'm also sensing that after your friends brought you back from the dead, the only person you've been REALLY talking to is Spike."

"Well yeah. I couldn't talk to my friends, they were the ones who brought me back." She whispered.

"I understand that." Lorne said soothingly. "But you haven't really let Spike in either."

Buffy blushed. "Well I sort of have."

"I meant emotionally." Lorne smiled knowingly.

"Oh." Buffy replied in a small voice.

"Buffy, the fact of the matter is that you have a lot of people who love you and want to help you, especially him." He said gesturing to Spike. "And with the hard times you will undoubtedly go through, well lets just say it will be easier if you accept the help and love of those around you."

Buffy's eyes teared up slightly. "But how can the powers, or whoever, put me through more pain and loss? I've already lost Mom, Giles and even Heaven… isn't that enough?"

Lorne grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry, but I don't know how to answer that. Sometimes the worst things happen to the greatest of people, but it's how you deal with those things that counts."

"That really sucks." Buffy pointed out miserably.

"Yeah I know, but it's just the way the world works. Many who die deserve life, some who live deserve death."

"Wow." Buffy said surprised. "That's an interesting way of looking at it."

"Well, that's actually a quote from 'Lord of the Rings'. I love Tolkien." Lorne replied animatedly.

"I never read it, but I saw the movie. I TOTALLY loved Legolas! I was getting into the whole blue eyes, insanely blonde hair, bad-ass fighter thing…" Buffy trailed off, unconsciously looking at Spike.

Lorne grinned at the now unaware Buffy but before he could say anything, Angel came back.

"Nothing's happened at the hotel, no visions, no vandalising." Angel said relieved.

Buffy snapped back to reality at this. "Huh?... What? – Oh! Nothing's happened, good… that's good." She trailed off a little sheepishly.

Angel looked at her strangely but said. "Is Spike going to be up soon or what?"

"I believe he's on now." Lorne answered looking to the stage.

At that point, a slightly drunk Spike walked onto the stage. "Hello all." Spike greeted the audience with the slightest slurring in his voice. "This song is for the gorgeous blonde up the back. Go team!" He said pointing to Buffy who, when everyone turned to look at her, was blushing furiously but smiling in spite of herself.

However, when Spike began singing, all the attention was immediately turned back onto him.

**_ I've found a long way back to sanity again  
Though I don't really know what I'm gonna do  
When I get there...  
Take a breath and hold on tight  
And spin around one more time  
And gracefully fall back to the arms of grace  
  
_**

**_'Cause I'm hanging on every word you say  
And even if you don't wanna speak tonight  
That's alright, alright with me  
'Cause I want nothing more  
Than to sit outside Heaven's door  
And listen to you breathing  
It's where I wanna be, yeah  
Where I wanna be..._**

Without even realising it, Buffy's jaw had dropped slightly open as she stared at Spike in lustful wonder. The man could sing, and it was incredibly appealing, she saw no point in denying that.

**_ I'm looking past the shadows in my mind  
Into the truth and I'm  
Trying to identify the voices in my head  
God, I wish it were you  
Let me feel one more time what it  
Feels like to feel and  
And break these callouses off of me one more time  
  
'Cause I'm hanging on every word you say  
And even if you don't wanna speak tonight  
That's alright, alright with me  
'Cause I want nothing more  
Than to sit outside your door  
And listen to you breathing  
It's where I wanna be, yeah-ah...  
  
I don't want a thing from you  
I bet you're tired of me  
Waiting for the scratch to fall off  
Of your table to the ground...  
'Cause I just wanna be here now..._**

Angel, on the other hand, was not amused. In his opinion, Spike could not have been more desperate or obvious about his intentions towards Buffy and he couldn't believe how Buffy was practically drooling all over the table. _'This song is for the gorgeous blonde up the back' Ugh! Could he be any more obvious?! GET A CLUE SPIKE!_

**_ 'Cause I'm hanging on every word you say  
And even if you don't wanna speak tonight  
That's alright, alright with me  
'Cause I want nothing more  
Than to sit outside Heaven's door  
And listen to you breathing  
It's where I wanna be, yeah...  
  
'Cause I'm hanging on every word you say  
And even if you don't wanna speak tonight  
That's alright, alright with me  
'Cause I want nothing more  
Than to sit outside Heaven's door  
And listen to you breathing  
It's where I wanna be, yeah  
Where I wanna be...  
here I wanna be..._**

When he was finished, Spike quietly made his way over to the table. When he looked at Buffy, Angel and Lorne he didn't really know how to act. All three were looking at him; Lorne was clapping his hands and saying "Bravo!!", Buffy had a half smile and slightly glazed look on her face, and Angel was giving him a chillingly dark look.**__**

Spike decided to ignore the latter and sat in-between Buffy and The Host. "You were really great Spike." Buffy said softly to him.

Spike smiled. "Thanks." He replied; suddenly glad that vampires couldn't blush. The two looked at each other for a moment but then their moment was ruined by a rather loud Lorne.

"Oh honey you were wonderful as always! I wish I could hear you sing everyday!" Lorne cried.

"Ummm… thanks mate." Spike laughed. "So, what's my fortune?"

Lorne wrote something down on a napkin and handed it to Spike. "Don't look at this now, wait until you get back to the hotel. When you're there, sit down and do what it says on the napkin."

"Ooook." Spike said hesitantly.

"Just trust me." Lorne said in response to Spike's hesitation. Then he looked over at Angel and spoke again. "Now I think you guys better get out of here because if Angel is going to explode, I'd rather he not do so in my club."

+++++++++++++++

Buffy, Spike and Angel made it back to the hotel without incident. However, when they entered Angel glared at Buffy and Spike and stalked up to his room.

Buffy and Spike looked at each other and shrugged. As there was nobody else in the lobby, they too went up to their rooms.

+++++++++++++++

When Angel walked into his room he almost slammed the door, but thought better of it when he saw Cordy hovering over a sleeping Connor. Cordy looked up at him and asked "What's wrong? What did Lorne have to say?"

"What?- Oh, I don't know… not much… do… do you think there's something going on between Buffy and Spike?" He pondered saying the last part in a rush.

Cordelia looked at him strangely but answered none-the-less. "In a word? Yes."

"Really? Do you REALLY think so?" Angel responded abruptly.

"Well, yeah." She answered. "I mean, they've got this whole 'teasing, flirtatious banter' thing going on and the way they look at each other… well… they have something going on, I'm not sure what though. Why? What happened?"

"The Host made Spike sing and he was all 'this song's for Buffy.'" Angel said, doing a bad impersonation of Spike's accent.

"He sang her a song? That's so sweet!" Cordy gushed.

"Cordy!!" Angel exclaimed in disbelief.

Cordelia seemed to get annoyed with this because she said "Oh, come on! Give the girl a break! She has the most scary life on the planet! She keeps losing boyfriends, putting her life on the line, dying and seeing other people die! If she can find some happiness with someone, even if it's a reformed vamp, then you should just let her be!"

"That's just the thing, Cordy, he's not reformed!" Angel shot back.

Cordy scratched her chin in thought. "Oh, I don't know about that. I think he is reformed. Call it women's intuition."

"Call it whatever you want, I'm going to go talk to Buffy and find out what's going on." He replied.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Angel. My intuition is telling me that you should just leave it alone for now." Cordy said warningly.

"Well, you're women's intuition is 0 from 2 because I'm going." With that being said, Angel walked out of the room.

"Fine." Cordy mumble to herself. "Make an ass of yourself, see if I care."

+++++++++++++++

Meanwhile Buffy paced about in her room thinking about what The Host had said to her. _Loss? What will I lose?… Who will I lose?… I guess it's a who, he said it would be painful after-all… rrrr!! This is ridiculous! I'm the slayer! I can stop it!! What does that stupid green guy know anyway?… ohhhhhh! He's not stupid and you know it, he's very nice… I would have REALLY liked him if it wasn't for the dark predictions…_

A knock at her door interrupted Buffy's thoughts. "Come in." She called out.

Spike entered saying "Hey, have you seen my lighter."

"Yeah, it's over there. You must have left it here before we left for Carita's." She mumbled in reply, pointing to the nightstand.

"Thanks." He replied. Once Spike had retrieved his lighter he looked over to Buffy, taking in her melancholy demeanour. "Something wrong, pet?" He asked with concern, slowly walking over to her.

Buffy shrugged. "Kind of." She began. "I talked to The Host while you were waiting to sing and he told me I'd be going through pain and loss sometime in the 'relatively near future.'" She quoted. "So know I'm sort of freaked out. I don't want to lose stuff or people, haven't I lost enough?"

Sensing her pain, Spike gently pulled her into a hug. "Yeah luv, I'd say that you've been through more than your fair share. I wouldn't worry about it too much, The Host is sort of like a guide, he tells us what we need to hear. Maybe it won't be that bad, maybe you just need to be prepared for something. Besides, you're not losing anyone; I'll make sure of that." He finished, smiling down at her.

Buffy returned the smile. "Thanks Spike, for once I feel better after talking to you." She said playfully.

Spike looked amused. "Amazing isn't it?"

Buffy smiled again but then grew serious. "I'm really glad you've got my back." She said, looking straight into his eyes.

"Always will." He whispered, returning her gaze.

For a long drawn out moment the two just stared at each other, still holding onto each other loosely. _Is he going to kiss me? Should I kiss him? Buffy thought, unconsciously wetting her lower lip._

_God, she's beautiful! That's it, I'm going in… Spike leaned down and closed his eyes just as Buffy tipped her face up. Their lips met in a fiery, passionate and long-awaited kiss. Spike felt like he couldn't get enough of her. He had one hand in her hair and the other was rubbing her lower back in small circles. Just when he thought that he may have been coming on too strongly she moaned into his mouth, encouraging him further._

Spike trailed kisses down her jaw and neck as he slid his hands under her top, playing with the smooth skin on her back. Buffy moaned again and began to tug at his shirt.

+++++++++++++++

Angel walked through the hall towards Buffy's room. _Ok big guy, time to find out what's going on… He thought to himself. When he reached her room he noticed that the door was ajar. __Hmmm… that's odd…_

Angel pushed the door open and was greeted by an unexpected sight. Right there in the room was Buffy, his former love, and Spike, his childe, kissing, no, ravishing each other.

At once, the two noticed someone watching them, so they stopped what they were doing and looked at Angel surprised and shocked.

Angel merely stared back at them with an open mouth. _Well… Said a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Cordelia's __now you know what's going on…_

++++++++++++++

TBC…


	6. quick AN

Hey people, I just wanted to leave a quick note here. I realise that I havent updated my story for ages, but the thing is, my stupid life (in the form of my final year at school) has gotten in the way of my fic writing in a major way. I do intend to finish my story, it's just that right now im really out of the fic-writing zone, and I also need to clear a few things up in my head as to where I want the story to go. So when I get back into the feel of writing and get everything back on track in my head, I'll definitely continue with my story. Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's taken the time to read my stuff, and especially to the people who have reviewed.  
  
Cya, Mel :) 


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